Beef Lettuce Wraps

I love ordering lettuce wraps whenever I go out to an Asian restaurant. The lettuce provides the perfect vessel to contain the yummy stir fry that is inside. Also, the wraps always seem to come with some sort of delicious dipping or pouring sauce. Usually when I order my lettuce wraps I stick with chicken, but since we already had some ground beef defrosted I substituted my meats.

I must admit, I don't normally like to prepare recipes that call for almost every ingredient in my pantry. For starters, it creates too much to keep track of. Also, I always find that I am missing just one or two  of the ingredients from the long list but don't feel like going out to buy it for a one time use. This time was different; rather than go and buy a pre-made Asian marinade, I decided to try and make all of the sauces required for the lettuce wraps including both the stir fry sauce and the pouring sauce. I won't lie and say it was easy but the feeling of satisfaction I got in the end was well worth the laundry list of ingredients that I went through.

In the end, everyone enjoyed the lettuce wraps and agreed that they were indeed very Asian tasting. I still think I would have preferred to use chicken, and maybe added some mushrooms had I not realized too late that we were out. Next time I'll be sure to try those amendments, but the sauces are definitely staying exactly the way they are.

Beef Lettuce Wraps
Note: I made these wraps for my rather large family so I tripled the recipe. The quantities below reflect the original recipe which makes roughly six lettuce wraps.

For the pouring sauce:

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp hot water
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

1. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water.
2. Add the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon, juice, and sesame oil and mix well. Set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
3. Just prior to serving, mix the hot water, Dijon mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Add to the pouring sauce about a teaspoon at a time until the sauce is to your liking. Alternatively, you can serve both components side by side and let everyone decide for themselves how much to mix in.

For the stir fry sauce:

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

Combine ingredients and set aside.

For the filling:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 8 oz (227 mL) can sliced water chestnuts, chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped

1. In a large skillet over high heat, combine the two oils and heat through. Add the ground beef and heat until no pink is visible. Make sure to stir often, reducing the heat if necessary, and break up the beef into small, uniform pieces. 
2. Drain the beef and set aside to cool, but keep the oils in the pan.
3. Reheat the oils and add the chopped onion. Cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, until fragrant.
5. Add the beef, water chestnuts, and stir fry sauce and mix thoroughly. If you want, add a few drops of Worcestershire sauce to kick up the flavor a little. 
6. Add the chopped green onions and mix through. Continue to cook over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes or until the green onions start to wilt a little.
7. To serve, spoon filling onto a large platter and arrange lettuce leaves either around it or right next to it. The lettuce can be of any type that is able to create a cup for the filling: iceberg, bibb or butter leaves, even nappa cabbage.